WASHINGTON, DC-On the same day that New York City’s Empire State Building was awarded LEED Gold for Existing Buildings certification, Washington, DC reached a similar milestone in an iconic structure--albeit one not nearly as widely-recognized as the Empire State Building. 500 New Jersey Ave., NW, was awarded LEED Gold for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance.

The National Association of Realtors owns the 92,469-square foot, class A office building, occupying roughly 50%. The rest is multitenant. Cassidy Turley’s Evan Tyroler, Michael Alexander and Nicole Snarski assisted NAR in securing the certification.

LEED EB: OM has been a focus for many building owners as it promises operational efficiencies and savings, Tyroler tells GlobeSt.com. “We’ve been very busy with this for the past year,” he says. What is interesting about the NAR certification is that the building was originally designed to LEED standards--it was the first privately-owned building in the District to get LEED Silver. “Designing and then operating and maintaining a building according to sustainable standards is the direction in which the industry is headed,” Tyroler says. Certainly that is the vision that USGBC had in mind. “USGBC talks about five-year recertification periods,” under which EB:OM could be considered to fall, he adds.